Display device



B@C- 7 937 M. D. POLLINGER m- Al. 2,103,450

DISPLAY DEVICE Filed Feb. 25, 1955 Patented Dec. 7, 1937 UNITED STATES parte PATENT GFFECE DISPLAY DEVICE to said Pollinger Application February 25, 1935, Serial No. 7,988

4 Claims.

Our invention relates broadly to display devices and xtures wherein an object is desired to be held in a given position to effectuate its ready observation. More particularly, our invention 5 contemplates a device or holder which will support the object to be displayed in a substantially vertical, semivertical or upright position on a support such as a shelf, counter, show window, or the like. In that the device hereinafter described is peculiarly adapted for the display of shoes, slippers and other types of footwear and particularly where it is desired to exhibit the soles thereof, we have deemed it advisable to illustrate and describe in detail a preferred form of our invention as adapted for such use.

We are familiar with various types of display devices which have been offered to the industry, but so far as we are aware, none have found appreciable favor, or wide use, because of inherent disadvantages in their construction and design, which as will become apparent hereinafter, have been eliminated by the construction and design used by us.

It is an object of our invention to provide a display device which because of its weight and design is capable of holding footwear and other articles in the requisite upright position without any possibility of the article falling over by reason of vibrations or shocks ordinarily experienced in a place of business because of the passing vehicles, people inadvertently coming in contact with the article or the base on which it rests, or other usual causes.

It is a further object of our invention to secure the aforementioned stability without in any manner whatsoever defacing, deforming or otherwise damaging or altering the article displayed.

It is also an object of our invention to provide a display holder which will be relatively inconspicuous so that attention will not be drawn from the article displayed, but which will nevertheless be neat, attractive, and pleasing to the eye. As will be evident from the disclosure herein, our device is adapted to handle articles of diiferent sizes and shapes and particularly when used as a shoe display holder is capable of holding and displaying footwear of all kinds, weights and sizes from the smallest to the largest and heaviest.

It is also an object of our invention to provide a means of suitably displaying amaximum number of articles in a minimum amount of shelf space, while at the same time making an attractive display arrangement of the articles exhibited.

Another object of our invention is to provide such a device which will be simple and durable in its construction and capable of being manufactured at such a low cost as to make it available to all users for a nominal price.

These and other objects and advantages will appear more fully from the following description of a preferred form of our invention and from the accompanying drawing illustrating the same, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective of the device in operation.

Fig. 2 is a perspective corresponding to Fig. 1, but showing the device alone.

Fig. 3 is a top plan of the device.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation thereof showing in dotted lines the outline of a shoe mounted in said holder.

Referring now to the drawing, the numeral I0 represents a base which as shown in the preferred form illustrated has a main solid portion and two extending or wing portions II and I2 extending rearwardly and outwardly from one end of the solid portion which end for descriptive purposes we will term the rear end of the base. The other end of the base Ill, which we will call the front end, is bent down through a substantial angle which may be in the neighborhood of to form a substantially erect supporting or side wall I2a to elevate that end of the base slightly so that the base will lie in an inclined plane. The supporting wall I2a may be cut away slightly in its center portion to improve its appearance and the tips remaining on each side may be bent outwardly at a substantial angle to provide feet I3 and I4 which will lie approximately flat when the base is placed on a surface such as a counter, shelf, show window or the like.

Supported at the rear end of the base I0 and preferably integral therewith is a forwardly extending tongue I5 which may be made as a substantially inflexible flat strip with an enlarged free end I6. The enlarged end i6 terminates just short of the front end of base Ill, the entire tongue I5 being spaced a short distance above the base Ill and substantially parallel therewith. While the tongue I5 can be made as a separate piece fixedly attached by any convenient means to the base I0 in spaced relationship therewith, we prefer to form the entire device out of one piece of metal, or other appropriate material as shown in the accompanying drawing. In this construc-l tion of our device the tongue I5 is formed by rst providing a centrally positioned strip at the rear of the base IU between the two wing portions II and I2 respectively, and then bending the strip back through approximately so that it overlies the central solid portion of the base I0 and is spaced therefrom and substantially parallel thereto.

In operation the device is placed upon a supporting plane such as a show case, shelf, display window or the like, in a flat position resting on the feet I3 and I4 and the outer ends of wing portions Il and I2, which causes the base I0 to assume a slightly inclined position with its front end raised. The shoe or other article of footwear to be displayed is then held in a substantially vertical position with the heel down and is moved rearwardly in such a manner as to cause the tongue to enter the inside of the shoe immediately above the inside of the counter. In this position the outer face of the counter of the shoe rests on the base I0 and the shoe is prevented from rotation by reason of the tongue I5 inside thereof, and particularly because the enlarged end I6 of the tongue engages the inside of the shoe due to the curvature of the latter.

It will be noted that the space between the base IU and the tongue I5 is just sufficient to allow the shoe to be easily slipped into place and that the shoe is held, not by any spring action of the tongue I5, but solely by reason of the tongue and particularly the enlarged end thereof engaging the inner curved heel portion of the shoe. By supporting the shoe in this fashion, the possibility of deforming or defacing it is entirely eliminated, although the shoe is nevertheless held rmly against movement.V

As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, numerous modifications of our device can be made without in any way departing from the fundamental idea involved. For example, the base I0 can be made as a solid plate without the wings I I and I2, just so long as sufficient breadth is given to give balance and stability to the device. Likewise, the feet I3 and I4 may be omitted if desired, or can be modified in shape to meet particular conditions and, if for any reason it should be desired to have the base lie flat instead of in an inclined position, the supporting wall I2a may be eliminated.

Furthermore, the size and shape of the tongue I5 with its enlarged end I 6 can, of course, be modified, as for instance to carry the enlarged portion back farther along the tongue or to make the entire tongue of greater or less width. It is to be understood that the preferred form shown herein is merely illustrative in accordance with the patent statutes and is not to be taken as limiting our invention which is to be accorded the full scope of the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. A shoe display support comprising, a crosspiece, a pair of legs carrying said crosspiece and secured to the respective ends of the latter, and a tongue depending from said crosspiece centrally intermediate of said pair of legs and adapted for engaging the counter-portion of a shoe.

2. A shoe display support comprising a base having a laterally extending forward portion provided with a depending front ange and a pair of feet at opposite ends of the flange, a pair of rearwardly directed divergent legs carried by the rear edge of the forward portion at opposite ends thereof, said legs having their free ends spaced apart a greater distance than said feet, and a tongue carried by the rear edge of said forward portion intermediate said legs and rebent forwardly to overlie the forward portion in spaced relation therewith.

3. A shoe display support comprising a base having a laterally extending forward portion provided with a pair of feet at opposite ends of said forward edge, a pair of rearwardly directed divergent legs carried by the rear edge of the forward portion at opposite ends thereof, said legs having their free ends spaced apart a greater distance than said feet, and a tongue carried by the rear edge of said forward portion intermediate said legs and having a rebent forwardly directed T-shaped free end overlying the forward portion in spaced relation therewith.

4. A shoe display holder integrally formed of substantially rigid sheet material providing a transversely disposed base portion having legs in the same plane therewith diverging from one edge thereof, the free terminals of which are adapted to contact with a supporting surface, angularly disposed feet depending from the opposite edge of the base portion and adapted for contact with said supporting surface to dispose the base and legs in a plane at an angle to the supporting surface, and a tongue located between the legs having a lower portion in the plane of the legs and a rebent upper portion overlying'and spaced from the base.

M. D. POLLINGER. H. J. WATSON.

LIU 

